What Are the Rules of Mexican Wrestling?

In Mexican professional wrestling, singles matches can be won by pin, submission, ring out or disqualification. A pin occurs when one wrestler pins his opponent for a count of three. A submission occurs when one wrestler waves his hands or tells the referee he submits. A ring out occurs when one wrestler is knocked out of the ring for a predetermined amount of time, typically 20 seconds.

In two-on-two tag-team matches, one team must pin both wrestlers on the other team to win. In three-on-three tag-team matches, a captain is appointed for each team, and the match can be won by pinning the captain or pinning two out of three wrestlers on the other team. Four-on-four and five-on-five tag-team matches require pinning the opponent's captain to win.

Disqualification can occur when an illegal move is used, when a weapon is used, when a wrestler receives outside assistance or when a wrestler rips his opponent's mask off. Illegal moves include blows to the groin and the pile driver. In tag-team matches, as soon as a wrestler touches the floor outside the ring, a teammate can enter without having to tag anyone. Professional wrestling in Mexico is called lucha libre, which means, literally, "free wrestling."